Battle Of The Booths: Ford vs Chevy vs Mopar! #MTSEMA18

You think you love cars?! The car nuts at the Big Three automakers in Detroit not only love cool cars, their collective future depends on it. What sometimes gets overlooked by the industry that is often taken for granted is that U.S. auto companies are arguably the biggest supporters of our car crafting hobby, whether it’s the manufacture and licensing of aftermarket products or the creation of special performance variants you can buy at the dealership. Each year, Mopar, Ford, and Chevy bring out their big guns to the SEMA show, wooing buyers, media, and potential customers to their booths with some amazing cars and equipment.

If you’re like most, you probably have a favorite brand, but even the most hardcore Bowtie, Blue Oval, or Pentastar fan must begrudgingly admit that the competition between the three has benefitted them. We see the brands battle it out at the races, in the showroom, and in the financial markets, but our favorite battle happens each year at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. It’s the “playoffs,” and Detroit is in it to win it. Fortunately, there are no losers at SEMA, only winners, as the accompanying gallery of photos shows.

So what’s hot and happening at the Big Three in 2018? This is the era of clean crate motor power, and Ford, Chevy, and Mopar all have big product roll-outs this year, as well as continuing programs that have gained momentum. More than ever before, auto manufacturers are playing the role of speed merchant, a role that is seemingly in contradiction to the traditionally stodgy, buttoned-up public face of car companies. Crate engines are better than ever because of the Big Three’s involvement; the resources that are brought to bear on the engineering challenges just can’t be equaled by smaller companies. This translates into powertrain systems that are almost always flawless in their integration, smog-legal in many cases, fuel efficient, and even covered with factory-backed warranties.

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By bringing project vehicles to SEMA that incorporate new aftermarket parts and crate engines, Chevy, Mopar, and Ford can show the hardware installed in some creative machinery. The whole idea is to inspire and ignite excitement, hopefully giving a jump-start to early orders, but more than anything, each OE wants to outdo the others. As of late, the crate motor horsepower wars have started heating up, and last year’s 700hp reactor core is quickly forgotten once the 800hp bullet hits the market. And where are those new, bigger, more powerful motors? Right here at SEMA, nestled between the fenders of some very cool projects!

Beyond crate motors and all the stuff that supports that (such as controllers, harnesses, and transmissions), the Big Three often float concept vehicles that are being evaluated for production, or as is more often the case, showing future “features” on existing models. (You’ll remember the wide-bodied all-wheel-drive Dodge Challenger GT that Mopar showed two years ago; those fender flares showed up 100-percent intact on the 2018 SRT Demon, then virtually the entire Challenger line-up.) Pay close attention at SEMA, because a lot of planning went into these high-flying concepts; company execs are watching behind the scenes to see the buzz. Who knows, what you say to the right person at SEMA could influence what’s in your garage next year!